Kettle Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar of Modena Potato Chips, 5 x 25g

This multipack puts Kettle Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar of Modena into five 25g bags, 125g of hand cooked chips in total. The label gives nutrition per 100g, and each bag is a single serving sealed until it is opened.

What is in each bag

According to the published pack listing, the chips are made from select potatoes, vegetable oils (rapeseed and sunflower, in varying proportions) and a seasoning with sea salt and balsamic vinegar of Modena: balsamic vinegar of Modena, sugar, potato starch, potato maltodextrin, natural flavourings, sea salt and citric acid.

A vinegar crisp with real vinegar

Many salt and vinegar crisps use dry acids in place of vinegar, because liquid vinegar would soften a crisp. This seasoning lists balsamic vinegar of Modena itself, carried on potato starch and maltodextrin so it can be dusted on dry. Balsamic is made from grape must and wine vinegar and aged in wood, so it is sweeter and fruitier than malt vinegar, and the sharpness it gives is rounded rather than harsh.

Hand cooked, and why it matters in a small bag

Kettle chips are cooked in batches, which gives a thick, hard chip with plenty of curls. In a small bag that sturdiness helps: thick hand cooked chips break less than thin crisps when a bag is carried in a lunchbox or a coat pocket, so more of the bag arrives as whole chips.

Numbers for one bag

Worked out from the label's per 100g figures for a 25g bag, each bag is about 128 kcal, 7.3g of fat, 0.6g of saturates, 13.1g of carbohydrate, 0.6g of sugars, 1.1g of fibre, 1.7g of protein and 0.14g of salt. That is about 6% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake and 2% of the salt. Per 100g the label gives 511 kcal (2132 kJ), 29.4g of fat, 2.5g of saturates, 52.5g of carbohydrate, 2.5g of sugars, 4.5g of fibre, 6.9g of protein and 0.58g of salt.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 29.4g is red. Saturates at 2.5g are amber. Sugars at 2.5g are green. Salt at 0.58g is amber, in the lower half of its band, and 0.14g in a bag.

Allergens and diet

No allergens from the UK list of 14 are highlighted in the published ingredients, and the published listing gives no may contain advice. The pack says the chips are suitable for vegans and carries a gluten free claim. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

The oils and the label note

The label lists rapeseed and sunflower oils in varying proportions, the standard wording when a blend can change with supply. Kettle's labels add that the chips may be fried in either oil or a blend, which is worth knowing only if you avoid one of the two oils.

Reading the balsamic

Balsamic vinegar of Modena carries a protected name: the IGP on the pack means Indicazione Geografica Protetta, protected geographical indication, so the vinegar must be made in the Modena area to a set method from grape must and wine vinegar. That is why the full product name spells it out.

Salt in a small bag

At 0.14g of salt a bag, this is one of the lower salt 25g bags in our range. A thin Walkers Cheese and Onion bag, for comparison, gives 0.29g on its label, about twice as much.

For lunchboxes

A 25g bag of a vegan chip with a gluten free claim is one of the easier lunchbox snacks for a household with mixed diets. The balsamic flavour suits a cheese and tomato sandwich, a pasta salad or a falafel wrap, and it is gentler than a malt vinegar crisp for anyone who finds those too sharp. Five bags cover a school or working week.

Gentler than malt vinegar

The sugar in the seasoning and the natural sweetness of the grape must soften the acid, so this is a salt and vinegar chip for people who find the classic malt style too sharp. The salt is modest too, which lets the fruity vinegar lead.

In the kitchen

A crushed bag makes a sweet and sharp topping for one portion of tomato soup or a caprese salad, and adds crunch to a bowl of roasted vegetables. Scatter it on just before serving so it stays crisp.

Storage

The pack advises a cool, dry place away from bright light. Keep the bags in the outer pack until needed and finish each bag once it is opened. The pack names Kettle Foods Ltd as the maker, and the published listing gives the United Kingdom as the country of origin.

Other sizes and flavours

The same flavour comes in a 130g sharing bag. Kettle Lightly Salted also comes in a five bag multipack of 25g bags, and in the 130g size we stock Kettle Sea Salt and Crushed Black Peppercorns, Mature Cheddar and Red Onion, Brie and Caramelised Onion and Honey Dijon Mustard.

Sizes of Kettle Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar of Modena Potato Chips we stock

Figures as published on each pack's label.

The tasting notes on this page are our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description.